SAN ANTONIO – Riverside King grad Kawhi Leonard is the kind of
player the San Antonio Spurs like: He’s a character guy who plays
defense and comes from a winning program.

It’s how the Spurs got him that was unusual.

Acquiring the 6-foot-7 forward in the NBA draft required trading
up, and that meant parting with backup point guard George Hill, who
became a favorite of Coach Gregg Popovich during his three seasons
in San Antonio and was considered a future franchise star.

It was arguably the biggest draft-day move for the Spurs since
1997, when they had the No. 1 pick and drafted Tim Duncan.

“I guess I just fit their type of scheme,” Leonard said
Saturday.

No doubts there.

For all the attention paid last season to the revved-up Spurs,
who surprisingly morphed into one of the NBA’s highest-scoring
teams while winning 61 games, Popovich often moaned about his
defense not meeting San Antonio’s usual standards.

The Spurs think Leonard is a step back toward that direction.
The former Aztecs star hit the boards at San Diego State, averaging
10.6 rebounds for the Aztecs last season in helping them win a
school-record 34 games and reach the round of 16 in the NCAA
tournament. He even welcomed a comparison to Dennis Rodman when it
comes to his pursuit of missed shots.

“I try to go after every rebound like Dennis Rodman. Some nights
he came out with 20 rebounds; one night I had 20 rebounds,” Leonard
said. “It just shows how much passion we have on the defensive end
and how much energy we bring to the team.”

Acquiring Leonard wasn’t any easy decision for the Spurs.

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford called dealing Hill one of the
toughest moments for the front office since Popovich took over. But
after bowing out in the first round to Memphis despite entering the
playoffs with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Spurs
knew they couldn’t sit still.

The Spurs haven’t needed a high draft pick while being the NBA’s
winningest franchise for more than a decade. Bringing in Leonard,
whom the Pacers selected 15th overall and immediately traded to San
Antonio, gives the Spurs their highest draft pick since Duncan.

“I think as we saw some of the teams we’re going to have to face
in the future,” Buford said following the draft-day trade, “and
size for our positions weren’t one of our strengths.”